Saturday, November 28, 2015

The clients I mentor are salt of the earth people who work bloody hard. They're highly successful yet always looking to be better.

​But...​ most are reluctant to seek outside help.

​Thats's why generally I only get to meet my clients via referral from people who don't easily refer because they don't want their friends/family/colleagues to know ​that at some point - even months or years earlier - ​they've brought in outside help!​ Can you imagine trying to make it in your own in top flight sport?​ Unthinkable, right? So why would that make sense in your business?

We can all benefit greatly from a fresh pair of eyes taking a look at our business from time to time.

​Over the past few months, I've held "One Great Idea" sessions with a wide variety of inspiring business leaders, and they all tell me how valuable these sessions have been. In fact, typically, they value them in the tens of thousands of dollars. I'd like you to get the same benefit - at zero risk. Here's how...

​We meet online or in person for 1 hour​, off the record​. I guarantee to generate one idea worth at least $5000 to your business. In exchange for that guaranteed $5000 value to your business, my fee for these sessions is just $500, payable in advance. And, to ensure this is totally risk-free for you, I will refund your fee immediately should you feel I didn't provide you with at least $5000 in value. Should we agree to work together in the next 90 days the fee becomes a credit against future work.

To ​find out if this is right for you, or to cut to the chase and ​schedule your "One Great Idea" session​,​ ​just telephone me on +61 418 807 898.

If an off-the-record chat is not for you right now please consider my Monday Morning Momentum and People, Process, and Profit Monthly Intensives. These are complimentary and exclusive for time poor people who register. Find out more and register here.Be remarkable.
Ian

Thursday, November 19, 2015

We used to say "There's no 'I' in 'Team'". But that's changed now. Your team members have unique talents, individual goals, and innovative ideas. They want you to be their mentor, not just their manager. They want work that gives them meaning, not just money. They want to know what's going on – not just in their tiny corner of the organisation, but everywhere – because they might be able to help. They will happily share their knowledge of social media, technology, and online culture – if you ask. They might already have built a thriving following outside work, and will gladly partner with you – if you're the right fit for them.

That's why there is an 'I' in "Team" now. Your power comes from each person in your team, not only from the team as a whole. Tap into the power of those individuals and you'll build a strong, vibrant team.

That's why we also need a new kind of leadership. Now, the most successful leaders understand that people follow you because of who you are, not because of your job title; individuals perform best when you recognise and value their unique skills; and your teams aren’t restricted to just the people inside the four walls of your office.

Not all leaders will rise to this challenge. If you call your people "resources", define their roles by their job descriptions, see them as interchangeable parts in a machine, or view your Generation Y employees as demanding and self-absorbed, you won't be able to make this work. It's about embracing the talents and skills of the individuals in your team, and you can't do that if you expect them to just do as they are told.

You also have to be able to work with unreasonable people. As George Bernard Shaw said:

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

The team members who are unreasonable, contrarian, difficult, challenging, argumentative, and sceptical might be the best people in your team.

Of course, this isn't always the case. Not every unreasonable person is a genius, nor is every quiet plodder incapable of a creative idea. But start by looking at your most "difficult" people from a different perspective.

You might have a new father who keeps pestering you to let him work from home, a senior manager who wants to spend one day a week supporting development work in Africa, a young team member who posts funny but caustic videos about his work life on YouTube, and a technology-crazy person who wants to hook up her tablet to the company network (even though it's not authorised). They might create short-term headaches, but if you can see beyond that, they can lead the way in virtual work, corporate social responsibility, social media, and IT infrastructure, respectively.

Can you embrace - not just tolerate - these people? If so, you might be just the sort of leader we need today.
[iteam]

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Choosing what to read, view, and listen to today can feel overwhelming. LinkedIn is now reportedly the largest publishing house on the planet. Then there’s Twitter, YouTube, millions of blogs, and a myriad of other options. I am sure that you, like me, have become very selective.

With the above in mind I’ve decided to reduce the number of my broad offerings here and elsewhere and focus on providing a select group of people with exclusive insights and opportunity for human to human connection.

Every Monday commencing January 4th 2016, I'll be sharing my discoveries on topics you request. Recognising you’re time poor I’ll be presenting succinct insights in 5 minutes or less via video and visual.Each insight will be in the spirit of three concepts I have discovered with my clients are foundational to success: less but better,creating more leaders, and focusing on one quantum leap at a time.

Then at the end of each month via live web TV I'll engage with you in a Q&A intensive where we'll explore topics in more detail to assist you in taking action in your own way. There'll be a simple separate registration for the intensives so that you can post your questions (anonymously if you wish) in advance.

The above offering is for you should your dream in 2016 be to have a highly respected, profitable, and growing business, and still have have a vital and fulfilling personal life.

Find out more and register here.As soon as you register you'll be able to download my best-selling Changing What's Normal book or an alternative resource should you already have the book.

Once you've registered I'll be in touch to ask you what topics you'd love me to explore.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Purpose, role, and communication skills stand out for me as fundamental for remarkable leadership.

Almost 100 years ago Mary Parker Follett nailed the true purpose of real leadership for me.

Purpose (why, intention, reason) precede role.

In their great book Bill Conaty and Ram Charan state:

Talent will be the big differentiator between companies that succeed and those that don’t.

I couldn’t agree more.

They also state:

Talent masters understand the subtleties that differentiate people.

Bill Conaty and Ram Charan also state:The enlightened CEO recognizes that his top priority for the future is building and deploying the talent that will get it there.

Talent is another word for gift. My life’s work is to help business owners and leaders become maestro's of gift/talent enhancement - the number one role of leadership and the key to fulfilling the purpose.

To excel at purpose and role real leaders are forever improving their communication skills. This means a presence 1:1 and in small and large groups.

Great questions to ask yourself and your employees regularly:

Yourself
How can I do better in fulfilling the purpose and number one role of leadership?
What more can I do to be a remarkable communicator 1:1 and in small and large groups?

Ask your employees
What suggestion do your have for me that will enable me to better fulfill the purpose and number one role of leadership?

What suggestion do you have for me that would help me to become a better communicator?

Thursday, November 5, 2015

In the past, when most organisations could rely on a few innovations a year, innovation was considered to be only the role of a Research & Development department. Now, when your organisation is more complex, employees have more ideas, and the external environment is changing so fast, innovation is everybody's responsibility.

This is not a new idea, but it's more popular now than ever before. Broadly, it's called "Employee Driven Innovation", and is adopted by organisations in different ways, such as Kaizen (the Japanese process of continuous improvement), employee suggestion programs, and innovation communities. Even if your organisation doesn't have one of these formal programs, you can foster innovation within your team.

Innovation isn't always about massive changes, like iPhones, Google, or driverless cars. Regardless of your team's role, there are always opportunities for improvement, and your team members are often best placed to suggest these improvements. They could be as simple as removing an unnecessary step from a process, simplifying a form, changing a customer interaction, tapping into social networks, using a new software tool, or saving five minutes on a repetitive task. That's innovation, and it doesn't require a formal program or an R&D department.

By encouraging innovation, you not only improve your workplace, you also increase employee engagement. In an environment where employees have more choices, greater flexibility, and less loyalty, it's increasingly difficult to get, motivate and keep the best people. If you can give those people the chance to apply their skills and talents to innovation, you can keep them motivated and engaged. It blends innovation and employee engagement in a way that's attractive to your brightest team members. These are the people who believe they can make a difference, and might already be making a difference outside work. Now you give them the chance to also do it at work.
[iteam-innovation]

Sunday, November 1, 2015

This is a sequel to my previous post The one thing Kiwi's and Wallabies have in common.

Firstly I congratulate The All Blacks on winning the Rugby World Cup yesterday, the first team to win three, and the first to win back to back (4 years apart).

A long term plan and the willingness and ability to execute it I believe was the key differentiator in the end.

A year ago the Wallabies were in disarray, so they do deserve credit for going as fas as they did.

With the benefit of hindsight they were unlikely to be able to stay the distance with an All Blacks team (players, coaches, and many others) consciously, carefully, and methodically executing a plan with everyone knowing and owning their role and fulfilling it.

I've always said worry is a wasted emotion. You have to plan for some of these things. We knew we could possibly have someone in the bin at some stage, so it's just a matter of making sure you have everyone knowing what they have to do.All Blacks coach Steve Hansen as quoted in this article.

The image above featuring Hansen and captain Riche McCaw from Getty suggests to me a calmness about and an ownership of roles.

In my 25 years as a mentor for business owners and leaders the greatest work done by my clients has been:

a willingness to identify the value that needs to be delivered to all stakeholders,
create roles without people in mind that deliver such value,
match people to roles,
and provide people with whatever inspiration, support, encouragement etc etc that is needed for them to fulfill their role.

What lessons can you learn from the All Blacks (and the Wallabies!) and imitate them in your own way for the long term success of your business?

About Differencemakers Community Blog

The authors of this blog are all members of differencemakers community a participatory third place for people worldwide who are changing what needs to be changed and looking to increase the scale of their differencemaking.